Companies have been struggling to wring out higher earnings quarter after quarter. It’s not easy.

Analysts expect fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings to have climbed just 6.2% when all the reports are tallied, according to data from Thomson Reuters. For the first quarter now under way, analysts collectively expect just 1.5% growth.

But a handful of elite IBD 50 companies have turned in sharply higher quarterly growth in their most recent quarters. And analysts see even stronger growth coming on their next quarterly report cards.

Here are the top six IBD 50 stocks based on the expected percentage point earnings acceleration:

Evercore Partners (EVR ), founded by former deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, grew EPS by 153% in its fourth quarter. Analysts expect the strategic adviser to multinational corporations to extend that high rate by 287 percentage points, with a 440% jump in first quarter earnings.

The No. 25 on the IBD 50 list has been mostly climbing since mid-November. But shares pulled back 1.1% on the stock market this past week.

Automotive rental giant Hertz Global Holdings ‘ (HTZ ) earnings climbed 38% in its fourth quarter. As the No. 1 rental giant digests its November acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, analysts expect first-quarter EPS to jump 220% over the previous year. That’s a 182 sequential quarter percentage point gain.

At No. 11 on the IBD 50, Hertz is the highest-ranked among these rapid-earnings-growth names. Its shares are trading near multiyear highs and climbed 3.9% this last week.

Black gold stuck in the shales of Montana and North Dakota is boosting earnings and future expectations for Oasis Petroleum (OAS ). The independent oil and gas driller’s earnings per share climbed 63% in its fourth quarter. Analysts are looking for a steep 172% hike in Q1 earnings. That’s an increase of 109 percentage points between the fourth quarter and the first.

The driller is ranked No. 49 on the IBD 50. Shares were up 1.8% for the week.

Network test-equipment maker Ixia (XXIA ) delivered solid 33% EPS growth in the fourth quarter. Analysts think that will climb 34 percentage points in Q1, with the consensus currently at 67% growth over the previous year’s earnings.

Ixia already has logged three straight quarters of faster revenue gains, from 9% to 48%.

The tech firm is currently ranked No. 21 on the IBD 50 list. Shares edged 0.7% higher this week.

Chipmaker Semtech (SMTC ) is expected to grow first-quarter earnings by 70%, an increase of 17 percentage points over the 53% bump it reported in Q4.